Cylon War

The First Cylon War was an interstellar war fought between the Cylons and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. The Cylons were created on Caprica prior to the war to serve in numerous roles in Colonial society, though after a relatively short period of time, they rose up in revolt against their human creators. After twelve years of brutal war, the conflict came to a sudden and mysterious end with the signing of an Armistice between the Colonials and the Cylons.

However, over forty years later, the Cylons returned and launched a massive assault against the Twelve Colonies, bombarding them with nuclear warheads and killing off the vast majority of the human race.

Contents

The Cylon uprising took colonial society by surprise, but while the more prepared militaries were initially able to fight off the Cylon rebels, the next twelve years of war would see ever-changing tactics and technologies developed by both sides in a desperate need to win the war for their very existence.

The Cylons were able to build up a fleet by boarding cruisers, taking control of the fire suppression stations and flushing the crew into space. Hacking tactics developed quickly, allowing more and more colonial technologies to be susceptible. The Twelve Worlds, losing the war, agreed to unify into the United Colonies of Kobol, with a single, unified navy that would protect the rich and poor countries equally. A fleet of low-tech, armoured carriers known as Battlestars was hurriedly designed and launched, with an initial twelve launched to celebrate this union, among them Galactica and Columbia. The purpose of these Battlestars was to be impervious to backdoor hacking, by using primitive computers without any form of networking. Though cumbersome, it proved an enormous tactical advantage and further Battlestars were put into service to replace the cruiser losses.

In the twelfth year of the war, Galactica; Columbia and a third Battlestar left the Cyrannus star system to assault a Cylon research outpost on a frigid ice planet in Operation: Raptor Talon. The Admiralty believed the Cylons were constructing a super-weapon, making its destruction crucial to the war effort. Columbia's batteries were destroyed by Cylon raider squadrons, allowing it to be destroyed by a missile barrage. Viper pilot Lt. William "Husker" Adama discovered after crash landing on the planet the super weapon did not in fact exist, and the research outpost was instead a cybernetics laboratory experimenting on human captives.[1] This operation occurred at the same time a Cylon offensive was underway on Tauron, in which the colonial defences were forced to fight in the cities, leading to countless civilian casualties.[1] During these two final operations, five humanoid Cylons from Earth made contact with the colonial Cylons, and convinced them to sign an armistice agreement with the Admiralty, quickly putting an end to the war.[2]